No E-bikes on Sanibel

July 2, 2019

As a longtime visitor and current year-round resident of Sanibel, I support 100 percent the views of Jane Holder in her letter to the editor ("Sanibel should not be mecca for e-bikes") published in the June 26, 2019, edition of the Island Reporter.

One of the things that first attracted my husband and me to the island in 2002 was the shared use paths. Over the years cycling for recreation and errands has been an important part of our time on Sanibel. Now that we are full-time residents it is even more important to us.

During the height of the season the bike paths become congested with visitors who rarely get on a bike the rest of the year and who do not understand the rules of the road on the shared use path. This year alone I have been forced off the path more than once by cyclists traveling too fast on the wrong side of the path or failing to give warning when they pass.

I spoke with one island resident who told me she does not allow her 10-year-old son to cycle on the paths during the height of the season because it is too dangerous.

Adding e-bikes to the mix would only have a negative impact on the very qualities that make Sanibel unique and special.